The Descendants (C or 2/4 stars)
In 2005, I walked into a movie theater to watch A History of Violence. The trailers made it look great. It received amazing reviews. Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris & William Hurt made up the cast. I couldn't WAIT to see it. 2 hours later, I had never been so underwhelmed in my life. The film I'm about to write about, Alexander Payne's 'The Descendants', is similarly underwhelming; especially given that this film is hyped for Oscar glory. To be more exact, the film is something of a bore; hitting false dramatic notes & creating a dismal combo of turgid emotion & lame comedy.
Successful lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) is preparing to sell off a huge chunk of land that has been in his Hawaiian royal family since the 1800s. However, a HUGE distraction pops up: his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Healie) is severely injured in a motor boat accident & is in a deep coma from which she may never recover. If that's not bad enough, Matt is forced to become the main parental force for his daughters. However, 10 yr. old Scottie (Amara Miller) & her 17 yr. old sister Alexandre (Shailene Woodley) are less than pleased by their father's belated recognition of his responsibilities. Alexandre also has a stoner boyfriend (Nick Krause) who spends most of the movie playing failed comic relief to slow-burning, uptight Matt. If that's not enough, Matt discovers that his wife was cheating on him at the time she had her accident. This gives Clooney the opportunity to do slapstick via a strange, extended running scene in boat shoes & cheap melodrama via a confrontation with his wife's lover (Matthew Lillard, yes ... that Matthew Lillard of Scream & Scooby Doo).
Unlike Payne's earlier films (Election, Sideways, About Schmidt), 'The Descendants' lacks verve & originality. And the movie is especially obnoxious when the daughters hog the screen with profane wisecracks & over-the-top whining. As Alexandre, Shailene Woodley's much lauded crying underwater scene almost felt like a gimmick; and not something organic to the script. As Matt, Clooney walks through the film with his too-familiar wide-eyed & slightly agitated look. And due to the script, it's almost impossible to feel anything for these characters. I felt for a character played by Judy Greer. But both Robert Forster & Beau Bridges are on hand in small roles that seem to be inserted into the film for the sole purpose of giving them a crack at Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations.
Too much of this film just didn't jive with me. The Clooney character has a heart-to-heart with the stoner friend of Alexandre. But the heart-to-heart doesn't work because the storyline goes nowhere by the end of the film. Also, Matt's trip to Kauai to confront his wife's lover felt too silly for a film trying to achieve cathartic realism. That he flies to another locale to stalk the man to give him the respect of knowing that Elizabeth is dying just felt ridiculous to me. And last-but-not-least, the land sale plot was just so uninteresting. We're given back story-heavy narration explaining the land sale in lumbering monologues. And twice, we watch Matt stare at family photos of his ancestors which are expected to evoke some deep sense of family tradition. All it did was make me drowsy.
I know that 'The Descendants' admirably aimed to tell a full-bodied tale of an indifferent husband/father who is forced to examine his past & embrace his future in the face of tragedy. The film has its commendable aspects & tender moments. But a simple family drama about letting go of a loved one shouldn't have felt this contrived, forced, & flat. My mind often wandered. It did not hit an emotional nerve with me. The characterizations felt artificial & lacked empathy. And the threadbare plot teeters too often towards insubstantiality. I'm still stunned at the raves this film has received. In my opinion, there was just very little to love.
Successful lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) is preparing to sell off a huge chunk of land that has been in his Hawaiian royal family since the 1800s. However, a HUGE distraction pops up: his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Healie) is severely injured in a motor boat accident & is in a deep coma from which she may never recover. If that's not bad enough, Matt is forced to become the main parental force for his daughters. However, 10 yr. old Scottie (Amara Miller) & her 17 yr. old sister Alexandre (Shailene Woodley) are less than pleased by their father's belated recognition of his responsibilities. Alexandre also has a stoner boyfriend (Nick Krause) who spends most of the movie playing failed comic relief to slow-burning, uptight Matt. If that's not enough, Matt discovers that his wife was cheating on him at the time she had her accident. This gives Clooney the opportunity to do slapstick via a strange, extended running scene in boat shoes & cheap melodrama via a confrontation with his wife's lover (Matthew Lillard, yes ... that Matthew Lillard of Scream & Scooby Doo).
Unlike Payne's earlier films (Election, Sideways, About Schmidt), 'The Descendants' lacks verve & originality. And the movie is especially obnoxious when the daughters hog the screen with profane wisecracks & over-the-top whining. As Alexandre, Shailene Woodley's much lauded crying underwater scene almost felt like a gimmick; and not something organic to the script. As Matt, Clooney walks through the film with his too-familiar wide-eyed & slightly agitated look. And due to the script, it's almost impossible to feel anything for these characters. I felt for a character played by Judy Greer. But both Robert Forster & Beau Bridges are on hand in small roles that seem to be inserted into the film for the sole purpose of giving them a crack at Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations.
Too much of this film just didn't jive with me. The Clooney character has a heart-to-heart with the stoner friend of Alexandre. But the heart-to-heart doesn't work because the storyline goes nowhere by the end of the film. Also, Matt's trip to Kauai to confront his wife's lover felt too silly for a film trying to achieve cathartic realism. That he flies to another locale to stalk the man to give him the respect of knowing that Elizabeth is dying just felt ridiculous to me. And last-but-not-least, the land sale plot was just so uninteresting. We're given back story-heavy narration explaining the land sale in lumbering monologues. And twice, we watch Matt stare at family photos of his ancestors which are expected to evoke some deep sense of family tradition. All it did was make me drowsy.
I know that 'The Descendants' admirably aimed to tell a full-bodied tale of an indifferent husband/father who is forced to examine his past & embrace his future in the face of tragedy. The film has its commendable aspects & tender moments. But a simple family drama about letting go of a loved one shouldn't have felt this contrived, forced, & flat. My mind often wandered. It did not hit an emotional nerve with me. The characterizations felt artificial & lacked empathy. And the threadbare plot teeters too often towards insubstantiality. I'm still stunned at the raves this film has received. In my opinion, there was just very little to love.